Yeah, another "new guitar" oppinion post...

[niccar113]

Ok sorry for wasting everybody who is looking at this's time, but I've been playing a squier for the past three years, and frankly, i'm getting sick of it. So the choices i'm looking at this year for my birthday and christmas presents combined are the Schecter C-1 Elite (love the HB-102's), Fender American Strat, or ESP ltd H-250 (also HB-102's). I play in a ska band, but that's about once or twice a week practice, and at home, i play anything from blues to metal. But what I love are shredding solos. Just playing a solo for an hour and a half straight and incorporating everything i've ever learned... sweep picking, pinched harmonics, rakes, etc... learning new stuff and putting it in solo form is my pasttime, what I do for fun. So thanks a whole lot to anybody who gives an oppinion.

[CW14]

The guitars you listed are in completely different price ranges.
To make it a more even playing field, how about...

Schecter C-1 Blackjack

Esp Ltd H-400
(These 2 have real duncans, which are better than those duncan designed HB-102's)

Fender American Strat


Considering what you wrote in your sig, you might want to go for the Schecter

[aschleman]

Hm... it depends on YOUR taste. I personally wouldn't get a C-1 Blackjack... I would get a C-1 Classic with the Seymour Duncan JB/59 set and killer inlay job. My buddy has one and it's good for everything from blues to metal. The ESP/LTD guitars are mainly metal guitars... they're not going to give you great tone for anything but hard rock and metal... you might be able to squeez tone out of it... As for the Strat... Obviously the best blues tool ever created and it has been used for metal... If you're in a ska band it wouldn't be bad at all. They get great tone and they have a wide spectrum of playability. It would be a toss up between the Strat and the Schecter C-1 Classic... The Classic will get more attention from the crowd than the Stratocaster... so I would say go with the C-1 Classic....

my two cents...

[Raskolnikov]

If I were you, I'd go with whatever guitar moved me more. It sounds to me like you really like the Schecter, so that's probably the way to go.

If you decide to get a Strat, however, I think the American Deluxe (or any Strat with the Noiseless Singlecoils) will be much better suited to your interests. Especially when you're playing the Ska stuff -- with the Mids cranked up on your amp and the neck pickup selected, Noiseless Singlecoils are unstoppable for Ska.

[CW14]

The ESP/LTD guitars are mainly metal guitars... they're not going to give you great tone for anything but hard rock and metal... you might be able to squeez tone out of it
Schecters are designed for metal too, just like the Ltd's. The H-400 has pretty much exactly the same specs and quality as the Blackjack.

[aschleman]

Schecter is owned by ESP and operated as their alternative to their "Metal" guitars... With the exception of the Blackjack and Damien models all the Schecter models are more geared toward a wider range of musical genres rather than just specifically hard rock and metal. I suggested the C-1 Classic becuase it has great looks and can reach a wide spectrum of modern and classic tones with its JB/59 pickup set. Obviously though... the Blackjack is a metal guitar... And if you wanted to get a metal guitar, just get an ESP.

[niccar113]

hell no if you look on the schecter home page on frequently asked questions if schecter is affiliated with ESP in any way, the reply is "f**k no!" esp does not own schecter.

[Polera]

Im a strat fan myself. I have a american telecaster and the quality of build is great. Hardly goes out of tune and is very playable. I can only assume that the strat is the same way as its american counterpart. I have played them in the store...but id prefer a older type strats with smaller necks...however it was very well built, hopefully fender learned there CBS lesson, and stop making degrading crap. Also the american strat has more balls then traditional strats with a fatter sound.

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

Schecter is owned by ESP and operated as their alternative to their "Metal" guitars... With the exception of the Blackjack and Damien models all the Schecter models are more geared toward a wider range of musical genres rather than just specifically hard rock and metal. I suggested the C-1 Classic becuase it has great looks and can reach a wide spectrum of modern and classic tones with its JB/59 pickup set. Obviously though... the Blackjack is a metal guitar... And if you wanted to get a metal guitar, just get an ESP.
the blackjack has the JB/59 pickups too......

[aschleman]

the blackjack has the JB/59 pickups too......

Hm... I thought they had some special designed Seymour Duncans in them... Well, either way then. Thanks for the correction. I still like the C-1 Classic compared to the Blackjack... But it's all a matter of opinion. If the only difference is the finish and the Blackjack costs less... go for it.

[Dante7978]

How's this for an idea. How about you, niccar, try each of the guitars you're interested in, and YOU yourself pick out the guitar you enjoyed playing the most. Asking for opinions? Psh, everyone's different. Just go for what you think is best for you.